Sprint, AT&T to add 4G LTE to Mount Pleasant towers

Students using Sprint and AT&T cell phone services can look forward to 4G LTE coverage in Mount Pleasant soon.

Josh Simon, Central Michigan University manager of mobile device administration and support, said this is a step in the right direction for carriers.

"The carriers seem to be investing a lot into 4G technology,” Simon said. “That’s a pretty big step forward.”

AT&T was unable to give comment, but according to a news release, 4G LTE has been made available to customers in the Mid-Michigan area.

“This launch is part of AT&T’s Project Velocity IP, a three-year investment plan announced last fall to expand and enhance its IP broadband networks,” read the release.

With 4G LTE comes faster speeds and better reliability. Customers will be able to download, stream and upload data with more ease than was available with past services.

According to the news release, AT&T has invested around $98 billion in its wireless network over the past five years nationwide.

While Sprint Retail Sales Manager Bryan Beadle could not confirm a definitive timeframe for the introduction of 4G, he did say Sprint is well into the LTE transition.

“We are in the process of upgrading our network,” Beadle said.

According to Simon, Sprint has been working to improve both of its network and structure in the Mount Pleasant area for the last several years.

Simon said CMU students should also expect better results with university services, including BlackBoard and the new university email system, on their phones.

“That’s just a much faster data,” Simon said. “That’s only going to make the user experience that much better.”

Rochester Hills junior Sean Kennedy, a Sprint customer, said he is more than looking forward to seeing an improvement to his service. For Kennedy, the experience with Sprint service has been consistently mediocre at best.

“The service is decent,” Kennedy said. “Internet is slow. I use Pandora on my phone for walking to class, and most of the time I’ll maybe get one song before it just cuts out for five minutes.”

Kennedy said when he is in areas with 4G, his phone generally works faster. While he was surprised to hear that Sprint and AT&T are updating their networks, Kennedy said the better service will maximize the benefits of unlimited data with Sprint.